This review is of the DS1009 servo from MKS.
The Ds1009 is one of the newest car servos in the MKS lineup. It's a budget minded high speed/high torque digital metal gear servo.
Here are the specs...
Speed @ 6v: 0.10 sec/60*
Torque @ 6v: 122.2 oz/in (8.8 kg-cm)
Dimensions: 40 x 20 x 40.30 mm
Weight: 1.97 oz (56g)
Dead band: 0.002ms
Metal gear
Aluminum center case
Dual ball bearing
Retail price: $42.95
(Note: I did not provide specs for 4.8v because, c'mon we're car guys and we don't use 4.8v)
The DS1009 comes nicely packaged in a colorful box which is great for retail shelf presence. Included in the box are the standard assortment of servo horns, screws and metal grommets.
The finish of the servo is very nice. The quality of the molded plastic case top and bottom seem to be of very good quality with no bits of molding residue sticking out anywhere. The aluminum center section has a textured finish that is bronze colored that may or may not be anodizing. All 3 sections of the case are tightly sealed. Very nice appearance. The splines on the shaft are nicely machined and are deep so they bite in to the servo horn really well without slipping. Futaba horns are compatible.
I put the servo in to my touring car and have been racing with it for about a month now. I like the servo a lot. For just a couple dollars more this MKS servo is way better than the analog Hitec 625mg I was using. It's noticeably faster so the car is easier to drive through the really technical sections of the track. Also, it centers perfectly every time with no slop so the car doesn't wander down the straightaway like it did with the Hitec servo.
Note: Schumacher uses a unique servo horn design so I made a custom horn from carbon fiber and a Hangar 9 aluminum horn. This servo may not be for everyone. Some TC racers like to have crazy fast servos in the .08 range so they may feel this servo is a bit slow. But for the price, I would recommend this servo to any average racer or basher.
The test platform for this review is a Schumacher Mi4CX running a 17.5T spec motor on 2s 5000mah LiPo.
For more information visit MKS on the web at...
http://www.mksservosusa.com